Recruit Update ▲ Pelton-Byce Decommits From UMass

The Greg Carvel news prevented me from doing any recruiting updates for the last couple weeks. But time to get back into it with a bit of bad news.

Obviously with a new coaching staff it’s possible that there will be some turnover to this recruit list. Either the player decides to reevaluate his decision to come to Amherst now that the coaches who recruited him are gone or the new staff decides a player is not the right fit for what they’re trying to do with the program. It’s a tough situation but unfortunately that’s the way things go nowadays. It’s important to note that if a player has signed his National Letter of Intent (designated below), he loses a year of eligibility if he changes his mind, unless the staff releases him of the NLI. If a player has only given a verbal commitment, they can reconsider at any time.

The first player decommitting in the wake of Micheletto’s firing appears to be Ty Pelton-Byce, who has changed his Twitter profile to say he’s a Harvard commit. Pelton-Byce had been one of the more productive UMass recruits in juniors this past season. In his rookie year in the USHL he is currently tied for 2nd on Des Moines in scoring with 42 points in 59 games. Pelton-Byce, son of former Wisconsin star Brad Byce, was one of the top players in Wisconsin high school hockey the prior year. Pelton-Byce had previously signed an NLI, so it’s likely the school released him. Good luck to him in Cambridge.

I’m going to continue to provide updates on the recruits and assume they’re still committed to UMass unless I hear otherwise.

Shane Bear – D – Brooks Bandits (AJHL) – 2016 (NLI Signed)
44 GP / 11 G / 31 A / 42 Pts / 56 PIM
The Bandits are heading to the AJHL finals after they swept Camrose in the Division Finals. Brooks has yet to lose a game during the playoffs. Bear has 7 assists in the 8 playoff games. He had a strong regular season where he was a finalist for AJHL Defenseman of the Year and is considered one of the top defensive blueliners in the league.

Troy Conzo – RW – Wenatchee Wild (BCHL) – 2016 or 201755 GP/ 13 G/ 21 A / 34 Pts / 18 PIM
Wenatchee’s season is over after they were eliminated in the 2nd round of the BCHL playoffs. Conzo had a goal and 3 assists in 10 playoff games. He was 7th on the Wild in points during the regular season and 9th in goals.

Jake Massie – D – Omaha Lancers (USHL) – 2016 (NLI Signed)42 GP / 4 G / 6 A / 10 Pts / 41 PIM / -17
The USHL is in the final week of the regular season. Massie had a goal and an assist in three games this past week. Here’s a look at the goal, which he scored while suiting up as a forward for the Lancers who are dealing with injuries:

Colin Felix – D – St George’s (NE-Prep) – 2017
25 GP / 11 G / 20 A / 31 Pts
Felix ended the regular season with 31 points in 25 games, which was tops for defensemen in the Eberhardt division and 6th among all prep defensemen. He was named ISL 1st team. They ended up losing to St Mark’s in their first prep playoffs game

Matt Murray – G – Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) – 201723-4-0 / .910 save pct / 2.60 GAA / 3 shutouts
There’s a very good chance Murray will be facing the Brooks Bandits and their three UMass commits in the AJHL finals. The Saints are up 3-1 in their division final series. Murray has been splitting time in net during the playoffs and is 4-0-0 with one shutout so far with a save percentage of .950, GAA of 1.50. He ended the regular season 5th in wins and goals against average and sixth in save percentage. He was presented with his Top Goaltender trophy (won last year by current Minuteman Nic Renyard) and Top Goaltender Team award for his performance.

Cale Makar– D – Brooks Bandits (BCHL) – 2018 (NLI Signed)
54 GP / 10 G / 45 A / 55 Pts / 28 PIM
Makar has 2 goals and 8 assists in the 8 playoff games. In the regular season he accumulated the second most points for a defenseman, despite it being his first year in the league. He was the co-winner of the league’s Rookie of the Year award. He was named to the division’s All League and All Rookie teams:

▲

The rest of Coach Micheletto’s staff was let go this week. All three took to Twitter and showed a lot of class in saying goodbye. Thanks to them for all their hard work and wish them best of luck in the future.

Two former Minutemen landed on the AHL All-Rookie Team with both Frank Vatrano and Brandon Montour having monster years in their first pro seasons. Simply amazing to have two players on the team. Vatrano has been in the Boston down the stretch and one would think Montour would be making his NHL debut at any time.

Coach Carvel is getting to know some of the former Minutemen who have made it to the NHL:

Day 1 of alumni relations! Met Mike Kostka in Ottawa last night where he played for the Senators vs Pens. pic.twitter.com/cu2UhJcWUD

Search Fear The Triangle Archives

Contact Fear The Triangle

Suggestions? Questions? Care to share which Hockey East ref you hate to see take the ice? Have any beer suggestions? Feel free to email me.

If you want to add your two cents about a specific topic discussed don't hesitate to use the comment function.

Support FTT

Fear The Triangle will always be free. But there is some investment associated with providing first-hand coverage of UMass hockey. Specifically, domain hosting, travel, game streams, and ticket costs all add up. Not to mention the hours spent every day reading and writing about UMass hockey. I'll continue to do this for the foreseeable future even if it runs me into financial ruin (it won't, I think) and my wife divorces me (hopefully just as unlikely). But if you enjoy what you read here and want to show your support, here is a link to contribute to FTT via PayPal.

Legal Verbage.

Fear The Triangle is not affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, the UMass Hockey program or any other organizations having to do with UMass (or organizations having to do with triangles for that matter). What you read here is purely the opinion of the owner and frankly his mental state has always been suspect.